Hello! We are Stephanie & Chris, a couple based (for now) in the US Midwest with a love for traveling. We are almost(!) empty nesters, having raised 8 kids.
Our reality, we believe, many of you have as well: a desire to experience more of this beautiful world, but realistic about what's really possible, juggling family and work obligations
Travel is the "secret sauce" in our relationship, and we each bring strengths: Chris is a technology professional who has traveled the world, literally from birth, is a fantastic planner and certified credit card points & miles hack. Stephanie is an accomplished entrepreneur and financial advisor.
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In a sales presentation, I would complain that the value of the deed goes down even with Real Estate going up. Buying computers or cars depreciate but less than their vacation deeds. I wonder how they would respond to that argument.
This video is really helpful, thank you! But you mentioned you stayed in a Deluxe Overwater Villa… Was it called that or “Ocean Villa with Pool”? As there are a few different variations on their website.
I own a timeshare and been trying to get out of it for the past two years. I signed the contract back in Nevada of 2022 with Wyndham. Why is that when I was trying to find places to stay, everything was always booked by someone else. I do not see a use in keeping it. I don’t know anyone that would want to use my timeshare even if I were to keep it. Now that I’m interested in buying property, would owning the timeshare be similar?
Hi, we’re not certain about what your experience would be buying property but it would definitely be less stressful than trying to get out of a timeshare contract.
Congratulations on the new grandbaby! Your point about how difficult it is to command the same salary after leaving the workforce is absolutely correct. Enjoy seeing you guys!
I have a weird one for ya, I booked a hotel stay through hopper and used Klarna to make 4 payments. First payment went through just fine and a few hours later hopper cancels my payment and I get a notification from Klarna that they refunded me. It took 3-4 days for them to refund me (for no real reason) and it still shows I have a reservation on the app and even the hotel says I still have a reservation. I’ve called maybe 6 times already and they say I “paid” the amount and I don’t “owe anything”. I don’t owe anything because they canceled they payments. I’m afraid if I’m a “no show” they will suddenly charge me the whole amount. I verified with klarna they have refunded me (they did) and I don’t owe them anything. Please please someone help me.
The only thing worse than Time Share Industry is the Time Share Exit Industry. Avoid them Brother---Put the money in a dividend paying mutual fund and use dividends to pay for vacations.
Go onto expedia our booking.com and stay at the locations you are considering first. Then, go to RedWeek and EBay to get a sense of what the going price is on the secondary market.
This video was absolutely amazing. You touched on so many awesome topics that it's hard to remember them all and point them out individually. Let me start by thanking you for your candidness on camera. Towards the end, when you mentioned the argument, that's not something we hear too often on camera. Kelly and I have had those days. I also want to say Vietnam is one of our best trips. We cannot wait to revisit. You guys packed a lot in over the year. It's a good thing you had a wedding that kept you grounded, at least for one month :-). Thanks for sharing and keep them coming.
Thank you so much for the comments and feedback! Yes, we're prone to TMI but transparency is something we strive for - it keeps us accountable to one another and hopefully a different perspective.
Headed to the same resort in three weeks! Also used LuxuryEscapes. Would love to hear more about the whole experience. Didn't see anything on your website. Thanks
Never ever buy a timeshare. It's not a good financial decision. Just because there are people that like them doesn't mean it's a good financial decision. You will always be better off taking the money you would spend on a timeshare and investing it and then spending a portion of that money every year for hotels or AB&Bs and the like. If you have to borrow money to buy the timeshare than you are really making a mistake because not only are you paying too much for the timeshare, but you are also paying interest every year. Maintenance and fees will always be higher than you are told when you buy it. DON'T EVER BUY A TIMESHARE, EVER!!!!!
Your ability to effortlessly navigate points, card benefits, hotel perks, and the whole shebang is mind-blowing. Seriously, I can't even recall what I had for dinner yesterday, but you're out here recalling the fine print of an Alaska transaction from the ancient scrolls of years past. 😂 Oh, and let's not forget the incredible feat of snagging a stay for just $100! And wait for it... a free Uber thrown in for good measure? You're like the superhero of budget-savvy adventures. Kudos on the awesomeness!
Thank you! Yeah, it's kinda funny when we look back on what we've learned the past few years - we're in the waning years of raising 8 kids so the money isn't as tight, but the skills we've learned are probably more beneficial to us now 🙂
I purchased their 'Cancel for Any Reason Travel Insurance' for a trip to France through I had to cancel my trip and I applied for a refund. The confirmation email said it would take up to 3 days for the funds to show in my back account. It's been 3 weeks now and multiple emails back and forth. They claim they have transferred the funds, but nothing has been deposited in my account. I'm at wits end, because as you mentioned it feels like you are communicating with an automated email system. I've opened a BBB complaint and reached out to Air Canada since I purchased Hopper insurance on their website when I was booking my flights with AC. I don't want to let this go, because it's $2692.62 CAD.
Hopper doesn’t offer carrot cash rewards anymore for booking flights… I purchase two flights last week and they don’t want to give me carrot cash rewards, I called and they just tell me histories…
“Hold my warm nutz” 😂. Thank you for sharing this informative video. Kelly & I recently opened AA Barclays account and received 50,000 points. Any pointers for ways to maximize the card?
Hi! Yeah, that's the best starter card for airline miles. There's a couple of ways to maximize the card. The most obvious is using it to book travel on the AA website, not just airfare but hotels and rental cars. The second is through AA partners using www.simplymiles.com where you can get 2x or more for your spend just by going through their portal. They also have an extension for Google Chrome which is handy. For example we get a few miles every time we buy groceries online from Walmart.com
This hopper is cheating customers and they have charged twice for rescheduling and finally they have put a block on my ticket which says cannot change my travel dates anymore. This is absurd and there is no one to respond and they are trying to cheat people or take them for a ride. Please call the legal department and file a fraud case on this hopper company
Yes, that's the #1 hack we use. Around the November/December timeframe we'll have an idea of what our taxes will be for the year. We'll also look at any large expenditures we want to pay towards (we need to replace the dishwasher in our primary home, for example). We'll figure out how much of this we plan to do over the next 3-6mos (paying cash!) and go shopping for the best credit cards to apply for. Each year, we've been able to cover a majority of our travel budget this way.
One more thing, if the other companies hear this they will drop them cause it opens them up to liability and can also be prosecuted for the same thing in what's called a conspiracy to commit international monies fraud, again, just saying 😎
I want to expand on my earlier comments, just imagine if what is going on with these situations is happening in not just here in Boston Massachusetts but what if it's going on in multiple states and other countries besides this one, do you know what that means? It could potentially be in the MILLIONS of dollars just sitting in there Bank accounts off shore accounts like the Mafia while they sit there telling you they're sorry for the inconvenience All the way to the BANK, snubbing their nose at us our government and the government of the other countries and the government's here and abroad knows nothing about their scams being run on us, CRIMINAL Acts slipping under the wire, just saying.
The federal government calls this fraud and prosecutes these very same actions, I tried to get a rental car in which I gave hopper My card information and they reserved the car, on the day I went to pick up the car the rental agency told me that they don't except my card which Is a debit card, I then reached out to hopper and relayed this to them in which I was told that they would ask the rental agency to refund my money in which I said to them I did not make a reservation with them your company did my contract was made with you you need to refund my money and take uo whatever you need to retrieve the money from them, I went on to say in the future don't pay the money until the purchase is received which is myself being in possession of the vehicle no rental place will take your money cause if you do not show up within a half hour of your reservation your rental will be given to the next customer and you'd receive an immediate refund, they put me on hold and proceeded to drop every call after that I informed them I will be calling the better Business bureau on the 19th , while sitting on my bed I said let me find them on youtube and here you are with similar incidents, here's where the crime is being committed, just imagine if you do this say 100 individuals and only 10 say something you get to Pocket the rest and on the surface or on it it doesn't look like your company is engaging in an international fraud scam so buyer beware.
